Infrared Waves Milena and Audrey

Infrared waves are in between microwaves and visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum. They have a frequency between 3x10^11 Hz and 4.3x10^14 Hz. Their range of wavelength is between 7.3x10^-7 m and.001 m.

Ever seen and infrared map on the weather? Weather satellites use infrared imaging systems to map cloud patterns and warm/cold fronts so that they can predict the weather. Astronomers use infrared telescopes to dust bands, stars, and entire galaxies that are unable to be seen with visible light. Where a formation is obscured by dust (blocking visible light), infrared waves can still pass through and be “seen” by the telescope. How are infrared waves used?

In restaurants, infrared lights are used to keep food warm while it waits to be served. Infrared lamps are also used as heaters at places such as sidewalk cafes, where a traditional heating system would be impractical. Infrared radiation is extremely useful to the military, who use it to “see” in the dark, by using the infrared waves to create a heat map that shows where warm areas – such as human bodies – are in a colder background. Thermographs are infrared pictures that doctors use to see the human body. The infrared waves can show the heat distribution throughout the body, which can show where there are areas of high or low blood flow. How are infrared waves used?

Who can see it? Humans can’t see infrared light. However, humans are continuously emitting infrared radiation! Some animals, such as the pit viper, can see infrared light, and use it to hunt in the dark. Machines can “see” infrared light by measuring the amount of radiation from different parts of an object and displaying it as a heat map.

Is it Dangerous? No! the only danger that can come from infrared radiation is simple: overheating.

How was it discovered? In 1800, the German astronomer William Herschel used a prism to split white light into the visible light spectrum (a rainbow). He then passed a thermometer through the spectrum, from violet to red, to measure the temperature change in the colors. Then he passed it past the red end of the spectrum, where he measured the greatest increase in temperature. He concluded that there must be an invisible type of radiation past the red end of the spectrum: infrared!

The longer wavelengths of infrared radiation are what contribute to the greenhouse effect. Visible light waves pass through the layer of atmosphere of the earth, heating it up. Some of the waves are reflected back, but long wavelength infrared waves can’t pass back through, and so stay beneath the atmosphere, heating up the Earth. The longer wavelengths of infrared light also are much hotter than the shorter wavelengths. Long wavelengths are forms of heat such as fire and sunlight, while the shorter wavelengths are used in everyday life. Interesting Facts

Anything whose temperature is above absolute zero — 0˚ K — radiates in the infrared. That means everything in the world radiates some measure of infrared radiation! When something is “red hot”, it’s giving off so much infrared radiation that the object glows red (in the visible spectrum). Interesting Facts

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